Gasversorgung: Emirate kritisieren EU-Methanverordnung

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates (VAE), concluded his visit to Germany on Friday with a series of investment announcements and agreements. Energy cooperation is a key aspect of this visit. However, there are obstacles to overcome. The German state-owned gas importer Sefe signed a memorandum of understanding with Adnoc, the state energy and chemicals conglomerate of the UAE, and XRG.

XRG is the international investment company of Adnoc. In the statement released by the three companies, they aim to "explore cooperation opportunities along the natural gas and LNG value chain." Nevertheless, the existing European Union (EU) regulation poses a barrier to cooperation. Rainer Seele, President of Global Chemicals at XRG and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the German chemical corporation Covestro, told Handelsblatt, "The EU Methane Regulation cuts the EU off from relevant sources of supply."

The EU Commission is proposing concessions in the EU Methane Regulation. The EU Methane Regulation aims to reduce climate-damaging methane emissions along the gas and oil value chain. Gas and oil producers are initially required to measure the emissions.